Indonesia: Banda Aceh nine months after the tsunami
BANDA ACEH, Indonesia, 23 September 2005 – Surrounded by the rubble of what used to be a thriving community, four Acehnese schoolgirls play volleyball. Serving as the volleyball court is the tiled floor of a bulldozed house.

Four-year-old Su-Sze raises $8,800 for children in Malaysia
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, 8 August 2005 – Four-year-old Kam Su-Sze from Malaysia has done her parents and her country proud by raising more than 33,000 Malaysian ringgits (about $8,800) for UNICEF, through the sale of postcards showcasing her art.

A ten-year-old’s wish to build a tsunami ‘relief village’
AVINGTON, Pennsylvania, U.S.A., 19 July 2005 – If he had a million dollars, ten-year-old Dillon Tranquillo says he would build a ‘relief village’ in Sri Lanka for the tsunami victims, with housing and medical facilities for all.

Sri Lanka: A silent witness to destruction and progress
MARUTHAMUNAI, Sri Lanka, 23 June 2005 - The water tower witnessed it all. Set back from the Indian Ocean, it saw the tsunami sweep away everything in its sight in this fishing village in eastern Sri Lanka. Six months later, the view from the 35-metre tower is of a forlorn mass of rubble – all that’s left of a group of homes in a in this town in the Ampara district of Sri Lanka.

India: Volunteers put smiles back on young faces
CHENNAI, Tamil Nadu, India, 23 June 2005 - O.K. Swami, 20, is studying for a BA in Literature. This summer break, he is back in his home village, Melamanakudy, volunteering to help young tsunami victims cope with lingering trauma caused by the loss of homes, family members or friends.

Maldives: Fresh water from the sea
GURAIDHOO ISLAND, Maldives, 22 June 2005 – Saeeda Hassan and her children rush to the harbour of this tsunami-affected island every few days when the word spreads that the water boat is arriving.

Sri Lanka: Seven siblings reunited
BATTICALOA, Sri Lanka, 21 June 2005 – They play with each other like pups. Sometimes they even spar. But even when they quarrel, these seven Sri Lankan siblings are just happy to be together again. Losing both their parents and their home in the tsunami was terrible enough without the added pain of being split up.

Sri Lanka: Young doctors volunteer for community healing
GALLE, Sri Lanka, 21 June 2005 – Twelve-year-old Vishara Madushan is no more afraid of the sea. Vishara fled his home in southern Sri Lanka on 26 December as the surging waters swallowed everything in their path. Six months later, a trauma recovery programme staffed by volunteers who are recent medical graduates has helped him overcome lingering fears.

Maldives: Healing the scars left by the tsunami
GAN ISLAND, Maldives, 21 June 2005 – “When is it going to happen again?” asks seven-year-old Aishath, holding tight to her mother’s hand. Like many children in this region, Aishath is coping with the trauma of having lived through the tsunami, which forced her and her family to flee their home.

Myanmar: Many still rely on tsunami relief supplies from 6 months ago
PHONE DAW BYAE, Myanmar, 21 June 2005 - When the Indian Ocean tsunami pounded the sleepy fishing village of Phone Daw Byae last December, more than 100 families lost their homes – destroyed by the relentless waves. Six months later the shattered wreckage still litters the sandy ground near the shore.

Malaysia: Community conversations help healing and recovery
LANGKAWI, Malaysia, 21 June 2005 – Lembut Hassan, Aminah Murad, Azizah Hashim and Embon Saad are facing a difficult and painful recovery process, forced on them by last December’s tsunami. But they are not alone in coping – they are helping each other, and their community, recover, through an age-old social institution: the community conversation.

Thailand: Orphaned by the tsunami, 1000 km from the sea
NAKON PANOM, Thailand, 21 June 2005 – Nong, a quiet 15-year old schoolgirl, still weeps when she talks about her mother, who disappeared when the tsunami struck six months ago. Sitting alone on one side of her school playground, Nong explains her mother’s absence by saying she has gone away to marry a new man. Denial is the only way she can deal with the grief.

Indonesia: Rebuilding schools
BANDA ACEH, Indonesia, 21 June 2005 – Nine-year-old Sufrisa sits in the front row of her makeshift classroom – a tent standing on the tsunami-ravaged landscape of the Aceh coast, in northern Sumatra. Her personal tragedy sets her apart even from most of her classmates.

Indonesia: For children, protection and a chance to play
BANDA ACEH, Indonesia, 21 June 2005 –Sitting close together in the open tent, the young boys rehearse the carefully choreographed movements that will accompany their song. They will be performing this piece at a forthcoming celebration, and they want it to be just right.

Thailand: Psychosocial activities help children cope with tragedy
BANN NAM KHEM, Thailand, 21 June 2005 – At first glance, Bang Muang School in Thailand’s Phang Nga Province looks as though it escaped lightly from the tsunami. There is no obvious damage to buildings and classes are being held as usual. But 51 children from this school died in the disaster and another 47 were orphaned. The loss of loved ones and friends still scars the pupils here.

Tsunami offers schools opportunities for change
RAA ATOLL, Maldives, 7 June 2005 – A classroom full of boys at Un’goofaaru Island School listen to an explanation about how an undersea earthquake hundreds of miles away happened to flood their homes the other side of the Indian Ocean.

Indonesia: New schools for tsunami children
BANDA ACEH/NEW YORK, 31 May 2005 – UNICEF has completed the first step in rebuilding hundreds of Indonesian schools destroyed by December’s tsunami. Two hundred temporary schools are being set up in Aceh – one of the worst affected areas – and will be used until permanent classrooms have been constructed.

Indonesia: The power of touch helps children heal
BANDA ACEH, Indonesia, 8 March 2005 – Catholic nun Brigitta Renyaan is using the power of touch to heal the psychological wounds inflicted on the children of Banda Aceh by last December’s tsunami.

India: Young tsunami survivors volunteer at day care centres
CHINNURPUDUPETTAI, India, 9 May 2005 – A casual observer watching 17-year-old Sonia Chinnaiyan smiling and working with toddlers at the Aanganwadi Day Care Centre in this village in Tamil Nadu, India, would never guess that her mother lost her life in the tsunami of 26 December 2004.

Quick funding from ECHO saves lives in Sri Lanka
Colombo, 6 May 2005 - When the tsunami hit Sri Lanka on December 26, 2004, the European Community’s Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO) was one of the first international organisations to respond.

Sri Lanka: Building hope in the aftermath of tragedy
MULLAITIVU, Sri Lanka, 22 April 2005 – Walking on this desolate beach in northeast Sri Lanka, 13-year-old Supendrini Thavabalasingham tightly grips her father’s hand as they both stare at the sea that shattered their lives.

Building new homes for Maldivians displaced by the tsunami
RAA ATOLL, Maldives, 19 April 2005 – From the air, Kan’dholhudhoo Island looks like a tiny but crowded city. Narrow streets are lined with houses, a large domed mosque and a red-roofed modern school dominate the skyline, and a concrete seawall surrounds the island. But a visitor arriving by boat is greeted by an eerie silence.

Emergency classrooms help children back to school in Sri Lanka
KILLINOCHI, Sri Lanka,15 April 2005 – With the new temporary classrooms built at the Kallaru school in Northern Sri Lanka, children can now return to their studies for the first time since December’s tsunami devastated their village. Being able to attend school is the surest indication for young people here that their lives can slowly return to normal.

Sri Lanka Radio Diary – A Journey through a Rebuilding Nation
Sri Lanka is one of the countries that was most devastated by the tsunami of December 26, 2004. Not so much for the numbers killed but because more than half of its entire coastline was badly hit – all the way from the southwest to the northeast tip.

Learning lessons from tsunami response
NEW YORK, 7 April 2005 – Three and a half months after the tsunami devastated south-east Asia, UNICEF’s emergency response team is beginning to evaluate the lessons learned during the humanitarian response. Claudia Hudspeth, who is UNICEF’s Senior Coordinator for Emergency Operations (EMOPS), recently returned from a three-month posting to Aceh, Indonesia, where she helped organize aid efforts.

Emergency treatment for hundreds injured in Indonesia quake
NEW YORK, 4 April 2005 - Up to 1,000 people are now feared dead in the earthquake that hit the Indonesian island of Nias last week. More than 500 bodies have been recovered from the rubble of collapsed buildings and the search is continuing for others still missing.

UNICEF aid arrives on Indonesian island hit by earthquake
NEW YORK, 1 April 2005 - Desperately needed supplies have arrived on the Indonesian island of Nias, where survivors are struggling with water shortages following this week’s earthquake. The relief effort has been severely hampered by bad weather and damage to the local airport.

Aid dispatched to Indonesian earthquake victims
NEW YORK, 31 March 2005 – Relief supplies are starting to reach areas damaged by the earthquake that struck Sumatra and nearby islands in Indonesia this week. More than 600 people are reported dead on the worst-hit island of Nias, where a quarter of all buildings have been destroyed and thousands of people left homeless.

UNICEF responds quickly to massive earthquake off Sumatra
NEW YORK, 29 March 2005 - UNICEF has completed a flyover assessment of Nias and Similue, the islands struck by a massive earthquake off the coast of Sumatra on 28 March, and plans to airlift emergency supplies as soon as possible.

Massive earthquake strikes Sumatra
NEW YORK, 29 March 2005 - An 8.7 magnitude earthquake near Sumatra on March 28 has created widespread panic and may have caused hundreds of deaths.

Maldives: Turning the sea into fresh drinking water
DHIFFUSHI ISLAND, Maldives, 22 March 2005 - All 1,015 inhabitants of this tiny low-lying island escaped with their lives when the tsunami crashed ashore on 26 December last year, but they immediately had to face another threat resulting from the tsunami. The fresh water table, just one metre below ground level, was flooded with sea water, rendering it unfit for drinking or cooking.

A long-term commitment to Sri Lanka’s schoolchildren
ADDALAICHENAI, Sri Lanka, 22 March 2005 - In Addalaichenai, on Sri Lanka’s east coast - hit hard by the 26 December tsunami - 10-year-old Aboosalih is a Grade 5 student at the Al-Arham School. “I didn’t want to sit at home while other children were going to school. I wanted to go back because education is important. It can help me lead a good life,” she says.

New boats help Malaysia’s fishermen get back to sea
KUALA MUDA, Malaysia, 21 March 2005 - Experienced fishermen around the Kedah area of Malaysia, long accustomed to the normal hazards of the sea, recall trembling in fear on the night of 27 December 2004, as they heard shouts of another tsunami approaching their shores - one day after the disastrous waves which devastated countries around the Indian Ocean. Thankfully, the warnings proved false.

“Tsunami generation” play their way back to normal life
GALLE, Sri Lanka, 15 March 2005 - At a relief camp in Sri Lanka's southern district of Galle, children play on swings and a merry-go-round in the compound while the sounds of others laughing, singing and shouting can be heard from another group inside a tent. This relief camp is now home to 62 families who come from the fishing and trading community nearby.

UNICEF restores water and sanitation in southern Sri Lanka
GALLE, Sri Lanka, 10 March 2005 - The sound of children playing during recess outside C.W.W. Kannangara College in Sri Lanka’s Galle district seems miraculous given the devastation wrought by the tsunami only three months ago. With only 30 metres separating the school’s front gate from the seashore, the force of the waves washed away classrooms and flooded the building.

Post-tsunami school project galvanizes Hafun, Somalia
HAFUN, Somalia, 22 March 2005 - Before the tsunami of 26 December 2004, Hafun was a thriving fishing village off the coast of north-eastern Somalia, with a population of 5,000 and a quiet existence in an otherwise conflict-ridden country.

A new beginning for the people of Kine Thaung Island
KINE THAUNG ISLAND, Myanmar, 21 March 2005 - Most villagers on Kine Thaung Island can never imagine life being the same again. When the tsunami pounded the village on a quiet Sunday morning in December, a number of young children were swept into the sea.

Traumatized children at risk for infection
TAMIL NADU, India, 21 March 2005 - Sahai Radhika has her eyes wide open, but she is not talking. The 12-year old girl lies in the lap of her father Krishtarajan and looks away when you try to talk to her.

Water expert helps UNICEF restore supply on tsunami-affected islands
MALDIVES, 16 March 2005 - For over 30 years, Dr. Peter Wurzel has worked on rural water programmes throughout the world. He grew up in Kenya and worked most of his life in Zimbabwe. He has an impressive list of academic achievements, including undergraduate degrees in geology and chemistry, a doctorate in nuclear hydrology, and post-graduate degrees in medicine and surgery.

Quick tsunami response prevented water-borne epidemics
NEW DELHI, India, 17 March 2005 - Shortly after the tsunami struck countries on the Indian Ocean and killed hundreds of thousands, the World Health Organization issued a grim warning that water-borne diseases could double the death toll. But three months after the tragedy, no epidemics of diarrhoea, cholera or measles have been reported in Tamil Nadu, Andaman, or the Nicobar Islands - the most severely affected regions of India.

Bilaal Rajan: UNICEF’s youngest fundraiser and advocate
TORONTO, Canada, 21 March 2003 - Bilaal Rajan is an eight-year-old boy who has big dreams. Bilaal wants all children around the world to be treated equally, and have the things he has growing up in Canada. With that objective in mind, Bilaal single-handedly raised C$50,000 for children affected by the recent Indian Ocean Tsunami. He launched a campaign with UNICEF Canada days after the disaster to raise more funds in order to help children and their families in need.

After the tsunami, a survivor becomes a hero
BANDA ACEH, Indonesia, 21 March 2005 - Masyitah Sembiring doesn’t describe herself as a hero but others do. In the immediate aftermath of the tsunami, when the people of Aceh were completely on their own, she helped feed them with whatever food she could find for them.

A school principal in Banda Aceh looks to the future
BANDA ACEH, Indonesia, 21 March 2005 - Yustiti sifts among the rubble. It hasn’t rained for two weeks and the mud left behind by the tsunami is baked hard. She picks up a school textbook, the dried pages thickened by water, reads the cover, then throws it away.

Psychosocial care and support for Thailand’s tsunami survivors
PHUKET, Thailand, 15 March, 2005 - Many children who survived the tsunami continue to feel its effects, in the form of anxiety, recurring sadness or nightmares. Memories of the event and of what was lost - family, friends, homes - can haunt their daily lives.

Structures and lives rebuilt in Maldives
NEW YORK, February 2005 - When the Indian Ocean tsunami struck the Republic of Maldives, located 416 miles southwest of Sri Lanka, the 1198 islands that form its archipelago were completely submerged for several minutes. Even though many were partly shielded by coral reefs, 69 islands suffered significant damage and 20 had to be evacuated.

Caring for children growing up alone after the tsunami
BATTICALOA, Sri Lanka, 1 March 2005 - Fourteen-year-old Suba couldn’t hear the thundering roar of the giant waves that claimed her mother on that fatal December Sunday - she is unable to hear or speak since birth. However, Suba saw the killer waves and felt their power. Fortunately, she managed to escape from the disaster.

60 Days later: tsunami survivors have received 2000 tonnes of UNICEF aid
NEW YORK, 1 March 2005 - Sixty days ago, the Indian Ocean tsunami struck coastlines as far apart as Thailand and Somalia after an earthquake measuring 9.0 on the Richter scale, struck near Sumatra. Initial reports suggested 23,000 people had been killed by the tidal wave. Official UN figures now show the number of dead at more than 162,000 with almost another 143,000 people missing and presumed dead. Added to that, nearly 943,000 people around the region were made homeless on 26 December 2004.

ECHO and UNICEF working together to improve hygiene following tsunami
ACEH, Indonesia, 25 February 2005 – Hundreds of thousands of Indonesia’s tsunami survivors are still living in temporary shelters, making the risk of an outbreak of waterborne diseases a major concern. Many camps lie in low-lying areas prone to flooding, and some need urgent help in maintaining a supply of clean water. To help the survivors cope, UNICEF and the European Commission Humanitarian Aid Office, or ECHO, have joined forces to improve sanitation and water facilities across Aceh province.

INDIA: UNICEF toys help tsunami survivors play again
NAGAPATTINAM, India, 24 February 2005 – Children in the Nagapattinam area of India who survived the tsunami are receiving support in coping with lingering trauma and stress, through play. As a part of the ongoing recovery process, the Indian government, supported by UNICEF, has equipped each of the 73 relief centres in this area with its own dedicated play area.

Displaced Maldivians struggle to recover from the tsunami
MALE, Maldives, 16 February 2005 – About five per cent of Maldives’ population of 300,000 have been made homeless by December’s tsunami disaster. Helping children and their families get back on their feet is one of UNICEF’s top priorities.

UNICEF helps ‘Baby 81’ reunite with parents
KALMUNAI, Sri Lanka, 16 February 2005 - The four-month old Sri Lankan boy who miraculously survived the tsunami - and later nicknamed “Baby 81” - was officially reunited with his parents in court today. Jenita and Murugupillai Jeyarajah joyfully took their son, Abilasha, from the arms of a doctor in front of an eastern Sri Lankan courtroom filled with onlookers and reporters.

Keeping India’s tsunami survivors healthy
NAGAPATTINAM, India, 31 January 2005 - For tsunami survivors along the coast of India, the path to recovery is slow and fraught with obstacles. In Nagapattinam, tens of thousands of people are still living in temporary relief centres.

Caring for Sri Lankan children who have lost parents
NEW YORK, 10 February 2005 - More than a month after the tsunami killed more than thirty thousand Sri Lankans, UNICEF is focusing on the long-term care of children who have either become orphaned or lost a parent.

After tsunami, ‘back to school’ brings back smiles
HAMBANTOTA, Sri Lanka, 8 February 2005 – Eight-year-old Ishani has finally returned to school after four long weeks of upheaval after the tsunami. Now a student at Hambantota Primary School, she beams when quizzed about how it feels to be back. “The best thing is to be learning again and to be here with my friends,” she replies.

Children eager to return to schools in Andaman and Nicobar Islands
PORT BLAIR, India, 7 February 2005 - It is lunch time and the fragrance of cooked food is infusing the air with a sense of expectancy. People seem to have settled into camp life as uncomfortable as it is. In the immediate aftermath of the tsunami, food, water and sanitation were the primary concerns for survival; education did not figure as a priority. Now it is back at the forefront of parents’ and teachers’ minds.

Education and play help children leave the tsunami behind
BATTICALOA, Sri Lanka, 7 February 2005 - In Batticaloa, children describe last month’s tsunami as ‘the lunge of a striking cobra.’ Snakes are a familiar danger to Sri Lanka’s youngsters, and the devastating waves that struck last month seemed to transform their entire environment into a menace.

MTV Asia Aid a huge success
NEW YORK, 3 February 2005 – Eleven thousand cheering fans watched their favourite stars perform in Bangkok today as part of a benefit to assist the tsunami relief effort in Asia.

MTV Asia Aid: International stars rally to support tsunami victims
NEW YORK, 3 February 2005 - A stunning line up of international stars joined Asian artists for MTV Asia Aid in Bangkok Thursday. The three hour concert hosted by Alicia Keys included Ashanti, Enrique Iglesias, Keane, Jackie Chan and Rio Ferdinand, Good Charlotte, Kelly Clarkson and Simple Plan.

Chinese community in New York rallies for tsunami relief
NEW YORK, 31 January 2005 – Representatives of New York’s Chinese community today presented UNICEF Executive Director Carol Bellamy with a cheque for $180,000, to support tsunami relief. The money - raised by various Chinese associations, groups, and individuals – will go to helping UNICEF’s work for the children and families devastated by the recent Indian Ocean tsunami.

Back to school in Banda Aceh
BANDA ACEH, Indonesia, 26 January 2005 - It is quarter to eight in the morning at SDN 3 Primary School in central Banda Aceh. A young girl, dressed in her school uniform of a long red skirt and crisp white shirt, slips off the front of her dad’s motorbike and walks through the entrance. It is her first day of school exactly one month after the tsunami struck.

Tsunami highlights 'forgotten emergency' in Somalia
HAFUN, Somalia, 17 January 2005 - Located far out on the eastern edge of the Horn of Africa, where no proper roads exist and the airstrip is the desert, the remote Somali fishing village of Hafun hasn’t had so much attention in decades.

British Airways supports tsunami relief
NEW YORK, 25 January 2005 - The first of ten British Airways flights taking vital aid to tsunami victims in the Indian Ocean region left Billund Airport in Denmark last week, bound for Banda Aceh, Indonesia.

Disease threatens Banda Aceh
BANDA ACEH, Indonesia, 19 January 2005 – Sanitation conditions in relief camps in Banda Aceh have deteriorated since the tsunami hit the area in late December.

Princess Alexandra of Denmark visits UNICEF
NEW YORK, 18 January 2005 – Princess Alexandra, patron of the Danish National Committee for UNICEF, visited UNICEF’s New York headquarters this week, to meet with Executive Director Carol Bellamy and other UNICEF officials and discuss long-term tsunami relief strategy.

Caring for the children of uninhabitable Gemendhoo
GEMENDHOO, Maldives, 14 January 2005 – On the approach to the Maldivian island of Gemendhoo, the first sign of the tsunami’s impact is a phone booth, resting on its side in the shallow water about 70 meters from shore.

Children going back to school in Thailand
PATONG BEACH, Thailand, 14 January 2005 – In classrooms of Baan Kalim School – swept through by the surging waters of the tsunami not even three weeks ago – students are back at their desks.

Amitabh Bachchan appeals for relief to tsunami survivors
NEW YORK, 13 January 2005 – Amitabh Bachchan, popular star of Indian cinema and recently appointed UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, appealed last week for relief to tsunami survivors. Mr. Bachchan spoke passionately of the world’s collective duty to the children who are the youngest and most vulnerable of the survivors.

Tennis stars rally for UNICEF’s tsunami relief
NEW YORK, 13 January 2005 – The world’s top tennis stars are donating memorabilia for auction and recording public service announcements (PSAs) for broadcast around the world, all aimed at raising money for UNICEF’s unprecedented relief efforts for the survivors of the tsunami disaster.

UNICEF thanks Japan for generous aid donation
NEW YORK, 12 January 2005 - The government of Japan has allocated seventy million dollars to UNICEF to assist in the tsunami relief effort. Japanese Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr. Shuzen Tanigawa announced that his government would donate 250 million dollars to international aid organisations for immediate emergency relief. It is part of Japan’s total aid package of 500 million dollars to tsunami-hit countries.

David Beckham joins Team UNICEF
NEW YORK, January 12, 2005 – David Beckham joined the UNICEF team this week to help pack educational and medical supplies for shipment to children affected by the tsunami.

Children in remote fishing villages get help
HAFUN, Somalia, 11 January 2005 - Children in the fishing villages of Hafun, Gara’g, Bender Byla and Eyl on the north-eastern coastline of Somalia are suffering the aftermath of last month’s tsunami.

UNICEF provides clean drinking water for 200 relief camps
NAGAPATTINAM, India, 9 January 2005 – Clean drinking water is the key to survival for hundreds of children and their families seeking refuge in crowded relief camps in Nagapattinam, Tamil Nadu. To prevent waterborne disease such as cholera, typhoid, and dysentery - all caused by drinking contaminated water - UNICEF has set up water tanks, providing safe drinking water for the survivors.

Immunizing children against measles
NAGAPATTINAM, India, 5 January 2005 – Children in the worst affected areas in India are undergoing urgent immunization to prevent the spread of deadly diseases. UNICEF says that protecting children against measles in eight affected districts of Tamil Nadu is a top priority.

Clinton announces cash for UNICEF tsunami relief
NEW YORK, 10 January 2005 - Former US President Bill Clinton has written the first cheque to launch a new fund with UNICEF to bring life saving water and sanitation to survivors of the tsunami. The partnership will strengthen UNICEF’s work in protecting children from water borne diseases in areas still devastated by the catastrophe.

UNICEF relief supplies arrive
MALE, Maldives, 7 January 2005 - A cargo plane full of educational supplies and other emergency relief supplies arrived in the Maldives on Friday. The chartered flight carried more than 100 school-in-a-box kits, 694 basic family water kits, 83 recreation kits, and 260 weighing scales.

Getting children back to school in Thailand
THAILAND, 7 January 2005 - Children have returned to schools in the hard-hit areas of Thailand devastated by the tsunamis. In the district of Phang-nga, and other affected areas, UNICEF is providing tents, tarpaulin and school clothing for the returning students.

Oral rehydration salts save lives in Tamil Nadu
TAMIL NADU, India, 7 January 2005 - After the tsunamis ripped apart families and homes in the Nagapattinam and other districts of Tamil Nadu, UNICEF has been working to prevent outbreaks of diarrhoea among the thousands of now homeless children and their families.

Susan Sarandon reacts to tsunami disaster
NEW YORK, 5 January 2005 – Oscar-winning actress Susan Sarandon – a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador since 1999 – spoke with UNICEF this week to share her reaction to the earthquake and tsunami catastrophe in Asia and Africa.

World leaders discuss tsunami help in Jakarta
NEW YORK, 6 January 2005 – UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said today that tsunami-devastated regions in Asia urgently need a billion dollars to provide water, food and shelter over the next six months.

Coordinating UNICEF’s relief efforts
NEW YORK, 5 January 2005 – The staff at UNICEF’s Operation Centre (OPSCEN), located at the organisation’s headquarters in New York City, have been working around the clock in order to coordinate the unprecedented relief efforts for survivors of the Indian Ocean tsunami.

In Maldives the situation for survivors is bleak
MALE, Maldives, 5 January 2005 - The 1,200 coral islands of the Maldives were hit hard by the tsunami that struck on December 26. Both the islands’ inhabitants and ecosystems have been devastated. Some of the country’s uninhabited islands were completely washed away and over 100,000 people, one-third of the country’s population, have been gravely affected.

More devastation revealed in Indonesia as UNICEF aid reaches children
NEW YORK, 4 January 2005 - As UNICEF aid reaches survivors of the tsunamis in Indonesia, the tremendous scale of the devastation in some parts of the country is being revealed. Many people who fled from coastal villages in the west of Sumatra report whole communities being wiped out.

Death toll on the rise in Thailand
BANGKOK, Thailand, 3 January 2005 - The body count continues to rise in Thailand after massive tidal waves caused by a 9.0 earthquake smashed into the southern region of the country. The official death toll from the tsunami disaster is rapidly nearing 5,000 with thousands more still missing.

UNICEF aid is reaching the needy
NEW YORK, 3 January 2005 – Urgent UNICEF aid is getting through to the worst hit areas of Indonesia and Sri Lanka following last week’s tsunamis.

UNICEF helps children cope with the devastation
ACEH, Indonesia, 3 January 2005 – Life-saving supplies provided by UNICEF are being distributed in order to help the children of Indonesia in coping with the devastation caused by last week’s tsunamis. The monstrous tidal waves have left over 82,000 people dead and over 1,600 people missing.

UNICEF aid arrives in Asia's hardest hit countries
NEW YORK, 2 January 2005 – Since the new year began, five planeloads of life-saving UNICEF supplies have arrived in Indonesia and Sri Lanka for victims of the tsunami disaster. More aid was delivered by trucks across the devastated Asian region.

UNICEF supplies water to parched relief camps
NAGAPATTINAM, Tamil Nadu, India, 1 January 2005 - Two truckloads of water tanks provided by UNICEF were driven into the tsunami wrecked district of Nagapattinam, in the southern state of Tamil Nadu. Supplying clean drinking water to hundreds of women and children who are crowded in relief camps is a crucial task, as water sources have already been polluted by piles of garbage nearby.

Relief supplies reach Somalia’s children
MOGADISHU, Somalia, 30 December 2004 – As countries in South Asia are dealing with the devastation caused by the surging tidal waves, Somalia - a coastal nation in Africa - is also suffering from the effects of the disaster.

Lost children left in wake of tsunami
NEW YORK, 30 December 2004 – Children who survived the tsunami disaster have lost all semblance of the life they knew and are in desperate need of care, UNICEF Executive Director Carol Bellamy said today.

Thai children receive comfort and care
BANGKOK, Thailand, 30 December 2004 - The body count continues to rise in Thailand after Sunday’s devastating earthquake and tsunami in the Indian Ocean caused massive tidal waves that smashed into the south of the country.

UNICEF aid flights leave for disaster zone
COPENHAGEN, 29 December 2004 – A UNICEF-chartered plane carrying essential aid supplies for children and families affected by the quake disaster is scheduled to arrive in Sri Lanka on Thursday morning.

The struggle to reach remote islands in the Maldives
MALE, Maldives, 29 December 2004 - The 1,200 coral islands of the Maldives were devastated by tsunamis that struck after the 9.0 magnitude earthquake of December 26. Some of the country’s uninhabited islands were completely washed away.

Children account for one third of tsunami dead
NEW YORK, 28 December 2004 – Children are likely to account for more than a third of those killed when massive waves smashed into coastal communities across Asia, UNICEF Executive Director Carol Bellamy said today.

Eye-witness accounts of the disaster in India
CHENNAI, India, 28 December 2004 - The south of India has been gravely impacted by this weekend’s 9.0-magnitude earthquake and resulting deadly tsunamis, which have left nine south Asian countries in chaos and ruin.

Children facing devastation in Indonesia
ACEH, Indonesia, 29 December 2004 – Indonesia’s children are stuggling to survive the aftermath of the tsunamis that destroyed homes, roads and the water and sanitation infrastructure across the island nation.

New risks begin to surface
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka, 29 December 2004 - The devastating tsunamis that struck South Asia on December 26 have left over 21,700 people dead and thousands missing in Sri Lanka, one of nine countries that were affected by the 9.0 magnitude earthquake and its aftereffects.

Asian countries hit hard by powerful earthquakes and tsunami
JAKARTA, Indonesia, 26 December 2004 – A series of powerful earthquakes unleashed massive tidal waves across Asia early Sunday morning, killing more than an estimated 23,000 people in six different countries, according to various news reports.